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Amarnath Flash Floods: What, When And How?

• By All That Trending
• 13-07-2022
• 18.85K

On Friday, July 8, 2022, highly-localized rain in Amarnath, Jammu and Kashmir caused flooding. This led to the deaths of at least 16 people and injuries to more than 20 people who were on their way to the holy cave of Baba Amarnath. The people who died were at a camp near the holy cave. The moment after the news of the Amarnath floods came to light, many politicians condoled the death of the Amarnath Yatra pilgrims. According to locals, the flooding was the outcome of cloudbursts. However, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) later clarified that the flood was not caused due to the cloudburst. Well! this was the background of Amarnath cloudburst. But, do you know what are cloudbursts and how they cause flash flooding? Keep reading the post. 

What Are Cloudbursts?

A cloudburst is a natural phenomenon that refers to an extreme rain condition within a short period of time. Sometimes, hail and thunder accompany cloudbursts. According to Indian Meteorological Department’s (IMD) definition, a cloudburst is unexpected precipitation of rain exceeding 100 mm per hour over a geographical region or approximately 20 to 30 km. From the definition itself, you can relate better to the impact of precipitation over a small region.  Usually, cloudbursts that occur in the Himalayan ranges involves heavy rain for a short period. However, it is pertinent to note here that  not all instances of heavy rain causes cloudbursts. Flooding can only be categorized as cloudburst if the area of precipitation is limited to 20 to 30 km. 

What Was IMD’s Response To The Amarnath Floods?

According to weather experts, the shrine region received 31 mm of rainfall between 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm on Friday. The low amount of rainfall does not fit with the definition. Therefore, as per them, the reason of flash floods was not cloudbursts. According to IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, “The flash floods could have been triggered due to rainfall in the higher reaches of the mountains near the Amarnath cave shrine.” 

Why Do Cloudbursts Often Occur In Hilly Areas?

According to experts, in hilly areas, sometimes saturated clouds fail to produce rain due to the upward movement of the warm current of air. Due to this upward movement, raindrops start moving upwards instead of falling downwards. The upward movement of raindrops creates a space for the formation of new rain drops.  When mixed with the existing droplets, the newly formed raindrops increases the size of the existing ones. When the size and density of raindrops exceeds the rain carrying capacity of clouds, they fall down together, resulting in flash flooding. According to a 2020 study, the meteorological factors behind the 2013 Kedarnath flooding involved a cloudburst. At that time, the cloudburst had happened due to some factors, including:

• High relative humidity.
• High cloud coverage.
• Low temperature.
• Slow speed of winds.

From that study, the experts explained that the above-mentioned factors have resulted in a climate pattern which causes the condensation of clouds at a fast pace. This fast-paced condensation further resulted in flash flooding in the Kedarnath valley. 

Amarnath Latest Updates

https://twitter.com/yasinmalik7861/status/1546379344385572865 After remaining suspended for a day due to inclement weather, the Amarnath Yatra resumed on Monday, July 11, 2022. Following the update, another batch of over 4,000 pilgrims left for base camps of the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine. According to officials, “A total of 4,026 pilgrims left in the 12th batch from the Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas here in a convoy of 110 vehicles amid heavy security of CRPF,”  Among these pilgrims, 3192 are males, 641 are females, 13 children, 174 are Sadhus, and 6 are Sadhvis. With this convoy, a total of 69,551 pilgrims have left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the valley since June 29. 

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